Tracing the history of Japanese commerce and consumption from the Genki to the Heisei era

Commerce enables the flourishing of cities. This article reviews three books on the evolution of commercial activities in Japan; including, a samurai’s account, a foreign concession’s window, and the role of shopping in Modern Japan. Lust, Commerce, and Corruption discusses how various social groups’ commercial activities influenced societal developments from the Genki (1570–1573) to the Bunka era (1804–1818). Opening a Window to the West is unique in the author’s detailed characterizations of Kōbe’s mercantile activities and how merchants influenced the city’s urban development. Finally, Marketing and Consumption in Modern Japan provides systematic investigations of the evolution of commerce and consumption in Japan, mostly from the Meiji (1868–1912) to the present Heisei era (1989 onwards). Read together, these books provide vital perspectives on how commerce has changed in urban Japan over the last three centuries.